It’s high time for the first female ‘Doctor Who’
Death to the Doctor! For those of us Whovians who have never been huge fans of Peter Capaldi as the universe’s leading Time Lord, this Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Not only will there be presents under the tree and chocolate Santas in our stockings, but there also will be a brave new world.
This Christmas we get a new Doctor Who. Prepare for the arrival of the first female doctor, ever. Sound the trumpets! And silence the haters. The Christmas special will premiere Monday on BBC America.
That’s why this regeneration, in the episode titled “Twice Upon a Time,” means so much to me. Not only are we burying my least favorite Doctor, but we are also giving birth to a whole new era in Whovian life.
This Doctor will be a woman. OK, so we’ve had female Time Lords before (remember Romana?), but she’s never been the captain of the Tardis. This is a huge moment in geek culture. It’s precisely the kind of hero little girls need to see on TV — a woman who is not a damsel in distress and who is not playing the wide- eyed sidekick to the real star of the show. This is a woman who is saving the universe on a daily basis. As a kid, I never even dreamed this would happen.
Capaldi ends his tenure during the highly anticipated Christmas special, and Jodie Whittaker, best known for playing the grieving mother in “Broadchurch,” will launch her dominion over multiple dimensions.
Only time will tell how the 13th Doctor will change the beloved series. Certainly Whittaker cuts a jaunty figure in yellow suspenders, and she doesn’t seem to be perpetually scowling — already improvements in my book.
Naturally, hiring a woman to steer the Tardis has generated controversy. There are those who take umbrage at the very idea of a female Doctor, probably the same folks who haven’t stopped whining about the all-female “Ghostbusters” movie remake.
But they are trapped in the past, and Doctor Who is all about exploring the wondrous possibilities of the future. Even if you are uncomfortable with a woman in a leadership role, why not give Whittaker a chance? Don’t judge her before she’s even battled her first Dalek.
Indeed, reinvention is the heart of this long-running franchise. That’s why the Doctor never dies; he just regenerates. It’s the secret behind the mythology’s ability to speak to different generations. The show changes as the world changes. It’s never out of date because it has a commitment to enduring beyond its current incarnation.
From the very first doctor — William Hartnell way back in 1963 — to now, the Whovian canon has never been afraid of exploring the unknown.
Honestly, though, for me, the new doctor is a victory on more than one front. Now the 12th doctor may well have his devotees, but I am not one of them. Capaldi’s grouchy iteration of the Gallifreyan annoyed this lifelong fan so much I had to stop watching the show — seriously. After decades of Tardis adventures.
I first fell for the doctor as a kid, back in the dreamy Peter Davison days, and I’ve been an avid follower of the David Tennant and Matt Smith oeuvres. But Capaldi’s crankyold-man reign tested me to my limit. What has kept me going was the knowledge that Capaldi, too, would pass.
With his swan song and Whittaker’s arrival, I can bask in the knowledge that society does sometimes actually move forward — a woman can be the doctor. That’s more magical than a sonic screwdriver.
Jelly babies all around, I say.